Author Archives: Mike Dalton
Leveraging Your Constraints This is the second of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘Should companies treat innovation management as a core competence? And if so, how?’. Here is the next perspective in the series: by Mike Dalton Most companies reinvest (aka spend) anywhere between 30 and 50% of their net income in R&D. However, even with that level of spending, most CEO’s are dissatisfied with the return on that investment. Getting more out of that investment requires a core competence in managing new product innovation. Easier said than done, but knowing where the leverage points are can dramatically speed improvement. Here’s how the five focusing steps of Theory of Constraints can help in this process. 1. Identify your innovation bottleneck and its constraints. To increase new product profits and time to market, you need to identify the bottlenecks … Continue reading
This is the first of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘What do you consider the most important single development in innovation methodology?’. Here is the initial perspective in the series: by Mike Dalton What if I told you there wasn’t one? Now, don’t get me wrong—there’s a list of brilliant innovation tools, theories and approaches a mile long. Open Innovation, Disruptive Innovation, Outcome Based Innovation, Customer Focused Innovation, TRIZ, Lateral Thinking, Stage-Gate…and that hardly begins to scratch the surface. The problem with trying to choose one as the most important is that while many have widespread utility, they only make a difference if the problem they help solve is the one that is limiting your growth. Let me explain. Innovation is a process where successful ideas move to commercial reality along a path something like this: An idea … Continue reading
This is the fifth of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘How should firms identify innovation opportunities and predict market potential at very early stages and in new areas (“green fields”) and ambiguous environments?’. Here is the next perspective in the series: by Mike Dalton Last month’s perspective suggested getting out of your environment and into the customer’s as one of the three steps to caffeinate your innovation. It’s fitting then that this month’s call for innovation perspectives should ask how firms can identify innovation opportunities and predict market potential at very early stages and in new areas. In this innovation perspective, I’ll brief six of the most effective practices in conducting customer visits for the purpose of identifying new and emerging opportunities in B2B markets. 1. Focus on the problems Customer visits must be focused on both finding … Continue reading
This is the fifth of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘What are three specific actions that a non-innovative company can take to become more innovative?’. Here is the next perspective in the series: by Mike Dalton 1. Narrow your focus While concentrating too hard on one thing can cause you to mistake the forest for the trees, that’s hardly the problems in companies today. No, I normally find companies spreading people too thinly – dealing with anywhere between five and ten projects at the same time. The so-called multi-tasking required to survive this situation puts people in a constant state of distraction (beta brainwave state) as they switch back and forth between tasks. It also means that they spend a higher percentage (greater than 70% by some estimates) of their time on the non-value added activity of juggling … Continue reading
This is the fourth of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘How should firms collaborate with customers and/or value chain partners to co-create new products and services?’. Here is the next perspective in the series: by Mike Dalton Innovate with Your Eyes Wide Open – Five Upfront Actions to Improve Any Collaboration Henry Chesbrough put it best, “You cannot meet your growth objectives if you ignore all of the smart people out there who aren’t on your payroll.” Hearing that, you can’t help but think you’re missing out on something really great if you don’t have a portfolio full of outside alliances. No wonder open innovation has become a “best practice.” Unfortunately, so-called best practices lead many companies astray. In fact, one study showed that more than 70% of attempts to collaborate fail when partners venture outside of traditional … Continue reading
In a recent Fast Company article and video on Open Forum, Dan & Chip Heath, co-authors of “Made to Stick”, look at how to explain what your innovation is and what it does. If ideas aren’t accepted they can die quickly, and there’s a lot riding on getting it right. From a Theory of Constraints or critical chain perspective, once your new product is launched, your constraint often becomes market acceptance. In some cases that means getting people to understand what your innovation is and how it can help them.There are lots of things that can constrain how readily the market accepts your new product or innovation, but the Heaths cover a very important one: helping potential buyers quickly understand what the product is and what it does. Anchor and Twist are the two suggestions they offer. Anchor your product to something they already know. Twist to show how it’s … Continue reading
